OUT FRONT Colorado's Gay Community Forum 3/10/93 | SENATOR CAMPBELL BETRAYS US | By Kevin Shancady, Mr. Leather Colorado It was only his second full-Senate vote. Colorado's brand new United States Senator had to make a critical choice: "Should I support the gay community who supported me and overwhelmingly voted for me? Should I support a new President of my own party? Or should I support a law that discriminates against people with AIDS?" Unbelievably, Campbell sided with discrimination. All of us who care about AIDS and civil rights have been horribly betrayed. The vote was on lifting an immigration ban which prohibited people with HIV or AIDS from entering this country for any reason. President Reagan implemented it. President Bush continued it. President Clinton and former Senator Tim Wirth opposed it as costly, inhumane and absolutely unnecessary. And last month, Colorado's Democratic Senator quietly joined his honorable Republican colleague and voted for it. This was the same man who ran campaign advertisements in our press asking for our votes and proclaiming all the things he would do for us in Washington. The same man who, on election night, vowed to work with our new Democratic President. The same man who addressed our gay pride rally and told us how he as a Native American understood discrimination and he would never tolerate it. The reason for his vote? Economic costs and health concerns, his office said. Specifically, the vote did allow - for the first time - people with AIDS into the country for 30 days for medical conferences, tourism and other business. That's the good news. But it prohibits any person with HIV or AIDS from immigrating into the country ever. According to his office, Mr. Campbell said that he just hated having to vote on the same side as Senator Jesse Helms on this issue, but he was feeling a lot of heat back home. In the Congressional Record, those senators who voted for the ban believe that if they allow people with HIV to enter the country just like anybody else, those people will sponge off our health care system, rack up huge bills and infect people. What does the vote mean: 1. Right now, the U.S. government is running a detention camp - not unlike those run during World War II to imprison Japanese-Americans. The camp is located at Guatanamo Bay and holds over 250 people. Those prisoners have one crime in common - they are persons who somehow became infected with HIV. They are refugees who wish to enter the country but cannot, solely because of their HIV status. Thanks to Senator Campbell's vote the camp will continue and probably others will be created to deal with refugees from others parts of the world who have HIV. 2. A Polish professor is living in America with his family on a special work permit. They apply for citizenship. They are all tested for HIV. The family is not tested for scores of other diseases which are serious health threats. The teenage daughter is found to be HIV positive. The family is told that the daughter must be deported immediately back to Poland. She cannot ever live with her family in America. 3. The vote goes against the recommendation of the International Red Cross, the Center for Disease Control, the World Health Organization, the American Medical Association, and both the current and former Directors of Health and Human Services. All of these medical authorities have determined that there is not one reasonable medical reason for excluding people with HIV from immigrating into the country. 4. The economic reason Mr. Campbell cites is also completely disingenuous. The Attorney General has the authority to deport any immigrant who becomes a public charge within the first five years of living in the country. Of course America shouldn't accept foreigners who are deathly ill and then be expected to pay for their care. Immigrants were turned back at Ellis Island and they would be turned back now whatever their disease was. If they do not have the resources to pay for their medical care, they have to return to their home country. This is not about accepting poor, sick people. It is about accepting people with the wrong virus - the virus with the big social stigma - HIV. 5. It keeps America in the company of only one other country which bans people solely on their HIV status - South Africa. 6. Politicans, not medical authorities, are making health decisions. The bill Mr. Campbell voted against (sponsored by Senator Kennedy and supported by President Clinton) would give the authority to decide HIV immigration cases to medical officials. First, HIV tests would not be conducted on immigrants. Immigrants are not tested for any other non-contagious disease; they would not have to be singled out for HIV. Second, if an immigrant was determined to have full-blown AIDS (discovered during the routine health exam), the medical officials there at immigration would decide if this person could cover their costs of treatment and would not become a public charge. Senator Campbell voted against that and, instead, voted that all people regardless of their health, finances or life situation are turned away if they have HIV or AIDS. The Senate vote was symbolic. President Clinton could sign an executive order lifting the ban but now he has been forewarned that if he does so, a majority of Senators are prepared to legislate a permanent ban. I urge those who care about civil rights of PWA's to call and write to Senator Campbell urging him to change his mind and his vote. In my opinion that vote is the kiss of death for his next campaign. I do not care how pro-gay he claims to be, no Senator who treats PWA's as second-class citizens deserves to be re-elected. Unless he changes his vote, he has lost mine. For good. Hear that, Ben? Senator Campbell's local office number is 866-1900. (The Honorable Hank Brown joined all but one of his Republican fellow-travelers in supporting the ban. He is unlikely to change his vote but we should tell him how we feel about it. Senator Brown's local office number is 844-2600.) | METROPOLITAN STATE COLLEGE OF DENVER DECLARES HATE FREE ZONE | Metropolitan State College of Denver's (MSCD) Student Government recently decided unanimously to declare the campus a "Hate Free Zone." The Declaration was originally authored by Auraria Lesbian and Gay Alliance (ALAGA) President Jeff Davidson, who passed it on to Student Body member Marshall Michael. Michael revised the Declaration, which was sponsored and presented to the governing body by Michael Wenpen. MSCD's Student Government decided unanimously to accept the declaration in session on March 3. Student Government made it clear that they wish they could do more. During the session MSCD Student Government decided to place a float in the St. Patrick's Day Parade. The float is to state that Metro is now a "Hate Free Zone." MSCD President, Thomas B. Brewer in a letter to his colleagues discussed the topic of sexual orientation. Brewer stated that "Metropolitan State College of Denver prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in all College employment." He went on to say, "In addition, the policy states that the College will not tolerate discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in student programs with the exception of student religious and military organizations." The exception concerning religious and military organizations is currently being examined by the Attorney General to ascertain whether it is legal or not to impose sexual orientation on religious and military institutions. Other Metropolitan State College News revolves around the recent Student Advisory Board's appropriation of $6,000 to the Student Health Center. The Student Health Center plans to use the funds for free HIV testing. They estimate that approximately 250 students will be able to receive free HIV testing beginning in April. The free testing will run in unison with a campus wide campaign consisting of an AIDS Challenge Test, presented to students by trained counselors during the week of April 12-16. Students will have several opportunities on campus to take the test and receive counseling resulting from their answers.